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Women at Boston

by Kathrine Switzer

Ever since I started running the Boston Marathon, I’ve told time by it. Like many other die-hard runners who are drawn back to Boston’s annual pilgrimage every April, I find that the race acts as a touchstone where we revisit the old family, check out the newborns, and begin the real calendar for the next year.

I’ve been at every Boston Marathon except three since women started running it, but I haven’t actually run it since—yipes!—1976, which was my eighth race there. For 29 years since, I’ve done TV commentary. Either running or talking, I’ve come to know personally every woman who has won the Boston Marathon as well as many place getters and a whole slew of women’s running characters. Most of them I’ve followed through years of triumphs, despairs, injuries, children—and even grandchildren. Many have become lifelong friends. As I go through the years and the list of winners, I am struck by two things:

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Table of Contents

• Welcome from the Boston Athletic Association by Guy Morse
• Welcome from adidas by Ashley Williams
• The Lure—and Lore—of Boston by Richard Benyo A not-so-short history of Boston and why it is the marathon’s Mecca (more...)
• The Genesis of Boston by Tom Derderian The first Boston Marathon, how it came to be, and how the first race went (more...)
• Boston Lite by Scott Hubbard Each Boston Marathon in 25 words or less
• John A. Kelley by Richard Benyo The grand master of Boston came up the hard way
• The Deed is Done by John J. Kelley Struggling for years to wear Boston’s laurel wreath, the B.A.A.’s own comes through
• Masters at Boston by Roger Robinson The pioneering efforts of masters runners at Boston
• The Epiphany by Tito Morales
The spirit of the Boston Marathon waits to infuse the first-timer
• Women at Boston by Kathrine Switzer From out of the bushes to the lead pack: a history (more...)
• The 10 Best Boston Finishes of All Time A stellar panel picks the 10 best Boston finales
• “Duel in the Sun” Revisited by Hal Higdon Uncut, long version of Higdon’s piece on Salazar and Beardsley from his book, Boston: A Century of Running. Half of this epic article will appear in this special issue, the balance to appear in the May/June 2006 issue of Marathon & Beyond. (more...)
• Boston Marathon Photo Gallery The Boston Marathon through the years
• Boston Marathon Resource Guide All things Boston, all in one place: B.A.A. contact info, best Boston Marathon books, important Web sites dealing with Boston, media coverage, videos, museums, and exhibits, etc.
• About the Authors